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Report: Boulder County 4th-healthiest in Colorado, but with room to improve

By Alex Burness

Staff Writer

Posted:
03/30/2016 07:31:20 PM MDT

Updated:
03/31/2016 02:16:35 PM MDT

Hans Swager finishes his jog at Chautauqua Park in the falling snow on Wednesday. A new report finds Boulder County to be the fourth-healthiest Colorado. (Jeremy Papasso / Staff Photographer)

The overall health of Boulder County residents remains among the best in the nation, but also continues to be marred by consequences of housing and income inequality, an annual report released this month showed.

County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, compiled every year since 2011 by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, offer a snapshot comparing the health of nearly every county in the nation.

On most of the more than three-dozen indicators evaluated, Boulder County ranks above or far above state averages. The county also scored above the 90th percentile for more than a third of the indicators that impacted ranking. Among its stronger points: rates of adult smoking, obesity, physical fitness and teen birth.

Boulder County also continues to offer its residents exceptional access to clinical care.

The healthiest counties in the U.S., according to the report, have around 1,000 residents for every primary care physician; here, the ratio is closer to 800:1. There is also one mental health provider for every 170 Boulder County residents, the report found, which is more than double the frequency of the country's top-performing counties.

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Since they began in 2011, the rankings, which take more than three dozen factors into account, have never placed Boulder County lower than fifth in the state.

Location matters

But people choose where they live based on what they can afford, and while the county populace is generally well-to-do, the report is a reminder of the strength of the correlation between how an area is built and how healthy its inhabitants are.

Chana Goussetis, a spokeswoman for Boulder County Public Health, said her office looks at sections of the county and asks, "How is the environment created so that people are able to live a healthy and active life?

"Is there a place nearby where they can buy fresh fruits and vegetables? Are there sidewalks to walk on? Is it even safe to walk? Are there bike lanes? Are there bus stops near by? Is it safe to wait at the bus stop?"

And even within ultra-healthy Boulder County, location matters dramatically.

Hispanic communities, for example, are disproportionately affected by HIV and Type 2 diabetes. Both are linked to cultural issues, targeted marketing and income, Goussetis said.

"There's a lot of issues behind one outcome," she added.

Room to improve

The child poverty rate is also growing in Boulder County, the report showed. Prior to 2008, the figure hovered near or below 10 percent; it's climbed to 14 percent since then.

A county-funded study last year called The Status of Children in Boulder County showed that Hispanic children were almost five times as likely as white children to be considered living in poverty.

Overall, Boulder County ranked 46th — out of 60; four Colorado counties weren't ranked due to lack of data — in the state in the category of "physical environment," and the primary reason is the 20 percent of households in the county that, according to the report, suffer some combination of overcrowding, high housing costs and lack of access to kitchen or plumbing facilities.

"The whole purpose of this ranking is to show how where we live matters," said Jan O'Neill, associate researcher at the Population Health Institute. "Health is much more than just medical care; it's housing and education."

Bridget Catlin, co-director of County Health Rankings & Roadmaps, said that the report is "only as valuable as the action it inspires and the lives it improves."

"Whether it's addressing health gaps between counties or the concentration of poverty in rural and residentially segregated communities of color," she said, "targeting resources to the people and places in greatest need is essential to building a culture of health.

"The rankings are an important springboard for conversations on how to expand opportunity for all to be healthy."

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